Virgin goes tits up into Labor (Day)

Discount offer brings site to its knees

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It's been an unprofitable Labor Day Weekend for Virgin Megastore Online. According to CNET e-shoppers hoping to take advantage of a 50 per cent discount sale got more than they bargained for when the site crumpled on Friday due to heavy traffic. It's impossible to say how many people have had their brand loyalty to Virgin tested as they failed to cash in on the e-tailer's summer bargains. However, The Register can confirm that the site is still lying in a heap on the ground some 72 hours after collapsing under the weight of e-shoppers eager to part with their e-bucks. A message on the home page reads: "Thanks for visiting Virgin Megastore Online's Labor Day Weekend Frenzy. Due to the enormous turn-out, the check out lines are currently full. Please try again a little later. "Thanks again for your business, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you!" Despite Virgin staff in the US putting a brave face on matters a spokeswoman for the company in the UK said she was unaware of the problem. Elsewhere, The Register received a report from one of its readers warning that Amazon.com had also taken an unscheduled time-out over the weekend. "It's really amazing, they should tell us what's going on," wrote this hacked off bookworm. "All of us who use computers realize that there are times when a system will be down. That's fine. "But they just need to let us know that they are actively addressing any problems, and then handle them openly. Then I'll trust them, and be understanding of occasional downtimes." Sounds like Virgin did the right thing but could it be that the normally mild-mannered bookworms are finally turning... ® Daily Net Finance News from The Register